TuneTown: There From Here

Tracing the historic path of this particular trio typesaxophone, bass and drums, no chordal instrumentleads back to saxophonist Sonny Rollins' A Night At The Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1958). The sound on that seminal recording is raw, rough around the edges, with the trio bumping through a bunch of familiar tunes, enjoying the freedom from chords.

There From Here, the debut of the Toronto-based trio Tune Town, employs a smoother approach, with tenor saxophonist Kelly Jefferson sounding more like Coleman Hawkins than Rollins. The compositions are mostly band member originals, with a couple of brief-but-invigorating collective improvisations thrown in, along with a gorgeous, slow-as-molasses take on Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" and a relaxed, cool-flowing rendition of Cole Porter's "All Of You."

Drummer Ernesto Cervini's "The Monks of Oka," a dedication to composer/pianist Thelonious Monk and named after ..."the Monks in Quebec who make really stinky cheese" has a sharp-edged zest, a labyrinthine bobbish melody and a relentless jumble of a rhythm. "As She Wonders," from the pen of the group's bassist Artie Roth, lays out a mysterious groove, with saxophonist Jefferson giving the proceedings an eastward lean on the soprano saxophone. Jefferson's "Kindling" finds the saxophonist again on the soprano sax, riding a joyous rhythmic ebullience.

Bassist Roth's "Transient Space" closes the album in a meditative mode, a spacious, understated rumination that seems to exist outside of timea soundtrack, perhaps, of the room emptied out and the band packing up their instruments, then a wearied (a good wearied) walk on the the dark street back to the van...

Track Listing: A Sonic Handshake; The Monks of Oka; As She Wonders; Sophisticated Lady; Split Infinity; All of You; The Mayor;
Infinity Past; Kindling; A Transient Space.

Welcome to All About Jazz!

We sent a confirmation message to . Look for it, then click the link to activate your account. If you don’t see the email in your inbox, check your spam, bulk or promotions folder.
Thanks for joining the All About Jazz community!